114 - GOSSE’S BLUFF METEORITE CRATER, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA (23°50' S, 132°18' E).
Approximately 135 million years ago a meteorite fell on Australian soil, devastating more than 20 km2 in what is now the Northern Territory. Today, a crater 5 km in diameter and 150 m deep remains, called Gosse’s Bluff; it is known as Tnorala to the Aboriginal people. Thousands of meteorites fall on the Earth’s surface each year, but they are usually less than 1 m in diameter and cause no damage because they fragment and burn on entering the atmosphere, reaching the ground as dust. Although it is rare, the arrival of meteorites or asteroids more than 10 m in diameter can cause serious damage, and even lead to the worldwide extinction of species. This is what is believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. Such wide-scale extinctions are not only a thing of the past and they do not always originate from extraterrestrial sources. We are currently experiencing the sixth major wave of extinctions in the planet’s history but, this time, human activity is the primary cause.

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